CIRS Group published a new regulatory update summarizing recent activity from China’s National Health Commission related to “Three New Foods,” a category that includes new food raw materials, new food additives, and new food-related products.

According to CIRS, the latest NHC notifications included approval review findings, extension notices, review opinions, and non-approval decisions. The update covered several ingredients and food additive applications that are relevant to companies tracking China’s food, functional food, and dietary supplement-adjacent regulatory environment.

Among the new food raw materials listed in the update were Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis XLTG11, Fusarium compactum Protein, Chlorella pyrenoidosa, Peony Seed Oil, Cyclocarya paliurus Leaf Polyphenols, Ampelopsis grossedentata Leaf Polyphenols, and Phytosterols. The update also referenced new food additives and related substances such as 2’-Fucosyllactose, 3’-Sialyllactose Sodium Salt, Calcium 6S-5-Methyltetrahydrofolate, Calcium Alginate, Xylanase, LNnT, Cellulase, Brazzein, Rebaudioside AM, Steviol Glycosides, and others.

For the health products industry, these updates are important because China’s “Three New Foods” pathway can directly affect whether an ingredient may be used in conventional foods, functional foods, or supplement-adjacent products. Companies developing novel probiotics, botanical extracts, polyphenols, fermentation-derived ingredients, specialty proteins, sweeteners, or functional compounds should monitor NHC activity closely.

CIRS also reported a separate regulatory development involving China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment. A proposed revision to MEE Order 12, also known as China REACH, could potentially bring certain food, food additive, feed, feed additive, and related substances into new chemical substance registration requirements if they are not listed in China’s Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances. If finalized, this could create additional compliance considerations for some ingredient suppliers and manufacturers.

What this means for the health products industry

China’s ingredient regulatory environment is becoming more complex and more interconnected. For dietary supplement, functional food, probiotic, botanical, sports nutrition, and healthy aging companies, market access may depend not only on whether an ingredient is scientifically promising, but also on how it is classified and approved under China’s food, health food, novel ingredient, additive, and potentially chemical substance frameworks.

Companies interested in China should evaluate ingredients early, confirm whether a material is already permitted, assess whether a new food raw material or food additive application may be required, and monitor whether broader regulatory changes could affect production, import, or commercialization. Early regulatory planning can help reduce delays, avoid compliance risks, and support a more realistic China market-entry strategy.

(Source: cirs-group.com & HPA-Global)

If your company is active in the dietary supplement, functional food, ingredient, or health products industry and is not yet a member of HPA-Global, we invite you to consider joining the association. HPA-Global supports members with China and global market intelligence, marketing visibility, industry connections, and access to regulatory support for supplements, ingredients, and related health products in China, the U.S., and other international markets.